Rob La Gatta's slides from his 11/7/2015 presentation at WordCamp Sacramento.

1. The Art of Replying to
Reviews on
WordPress.org
WordCamp Sacramento, November 7 2015

2. rob@tri.be
Rob La Gatta
Head of Quality + Support

3. REVIEWS ON
WORDPRESS.ORGOr, “Why should I care?”

4. REVIEWS ON
WORDPRESS.ORGOr, “Why should I care?”
From https://wordpress.org/support/topic/powers-my-business?replies=1#post-

5. WHY REVIEWS
ARE IMPORTANT
Customer Intelligence: Theyprovideasnapshotofyourusersandletyou
knowwhenyou’refailingthoseusers.
Influence: Theyinfluence(positivelyornegatively)prospectiveusers.Ifyou
haveapremiumextension,thiscancostyou$.
Holistic feedback: Theyallowforfeedbackbeyondjust“isitcodedright?”
*Poorsupportexperiences
*Problemswithbackwardscompatibility
*Complaintsaboutdocs
The WOW factor: Theygiveanopportunityto“wow”auserwhowritesa
reviewnotexpectingapersonalizedreply.

6. HANDLING POSITIVE
REVIEWSThis is the easy part.
Express gratitude: Likeahuman,notincorporate-speak.
Be excited: Thevalueofjudiciouslyusingexclamationpointsisnottobe
understated.
Keep it brief: Noneedtogetlongwindedifthere’snocentralgripe/
complaint.
Reiterate your commitment: Alwaysendwitharemarkclarifyingthat“we
arethereforyou”—wheretogethelp,wheretorequestfeatures,etc.
Systematize your replies: Chancesaretherewon’tbemuchvariation.

7. HANDLING NEGATIVE
REVIEWS
DON’T….
Ignore it.
Get defensive.
Post without context.
Be a jerk.
Promise anything.
DO….
Reply in a timely fashion.
Put on your best Buddha.
Your due diligence.
Kill them with kindness.
Set reasonable expectations about
actionable changes/follow-ups.

8. STRATEGIES TO MAKE
IT EASYThese have worked for Modern Tribe.
Accept responsibility. Apologize…notforanyfault,butfortheirpoorexperience.
Be empathetic. Makeclearfromthestart:yourmaingoalistomakethingsright.
Ask questions. Allshouldgettotheheartof:
1)whatupsetthem?
2)Whatcanmakethemhappy?
3)Whatcanbedonetopreventthisfromhappeningagain?
Challenge bullshit. Don’ttoleratepersonalinsults,falseclaimsaboutyourproduct
andothergeneralslander.
Outline next steps. Whatareyougoingtodonext/whencantheyexpecttohear
fromyou?

9. A TYPICAL NEGATIVE
REVIEW…

10. …AND AN EFFECTIVE
REPLY

11. SCALING YOUR
SYSTEM
….cheaply.
Stock replies. Hugelyvaluable(andeasy)forpositivereviews,butalso
helpfulonnegative.
Document your strategy. Howwelldoesitwork?Testbyhandingofftoa
colleaguewithjustyourdocs+seehowtheyperform.
Develop a rotation. Ifyourteamisbigenough…spreadthelove.
Incorporate into team member goals. Negativereviewsareagreat
opportunityforsomeoneuncomfortablefacinghostilitytocuttheirteeth.
Review your past failures.Whatcanyouprovidenowthatyoucouldn’tat
thetime?

12. QUESTION TIME
What burning questions does the group still have?

13. THAT’S IT!
Thanksforhavingme